22 Thursday Mar 2018
It is sooooooooooo great having the sun back! And while there are still a few rainy days in our future it seems our reservoirs are well topped up now, so there is no danger of water shortages this summer. All I want now is that we have enough sunny days to enjoy the AZAHAR… buds are all out and just need a bit of sunshine to coax them to open up. My favourite time of year.
21 Wednesday Mar 2018
Posted in azahars kitchen, casa azahar, homecooking, sevilla
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For as long as I’ve been going to Eslava (basically as long as I’ve lived here) I have loved THOSE honey pork ribs. The flavour, the texture, the wonderful comfort food aspect of that dish. And so I decided to try making a “home kitchen” version of it. After a small glitch when my newly-installed oven refused to cooperate the other day (my landlord quickly had the problem fixed – best landlord ever!) it was time to give it a go. And well… I almost nailed it!
I had been given some tips by the owner of Eslava, my friend Sixto. But of course trying to recreate something made in a professional kitchen at home is always tricky. But the result was pretty damn fine. The flavour was perfect, just like at Eslava, but I didn’t quite get the “fall off the bone” texture of the meat. I think I know why but, again, I will have to tweak the recipe so that it works at home. Which means I’m going to have to make these babies again sometime! Not a bad prospect at all. Who wants to come over next time?
Since there is no garlic in this recipe, I decided to add some on the side, and made my first ever whole-baked garlic (delicious!). I also made some “smashed” pan-fried potatoes. Then Peter @SVQconcierge and I watched a couple episodes of David Chang’s Ugly Delicious on Netflix while we ate… food obsessed much?
19 Monday Mar 2018
Back from seeing the oncologist and basically there’s no news. Things are as I suspected, with both the colonoscopy and endoscopy results clean. But there remains that pesky – and mysterious – inflammation that nobody can explain, short of opening me up, which my doctor seems to think is a bit drastic at this point. She wants to continue with clinical studies for the moment and monitor my “well being”. And so the next CT scan will be in May and I’m to check in with her again mid-April just to report on how I’m feeling.
All of this is both comforting and yet still somewhat alarming, because if they were sure I was okay then they wouldn’t be doing another CT so soon. So there must be something about the inflammation they find worrying. I forgot to ask about possible peritoneum issues, which I’d had before, and which usually don’t show up on scans. But I was there on my own today and, as usual, I got nervous and forgot what I’d wanted to say. I had also wanted to ask about the “opening me up” options, but then got caught up in the good news side of things. Basically I should never go alone to these appointments. I’d be more worried about this now if I wasn’t seeing the oncologist again in April. Next time I’ll take notes.
Anyhow, afterwards I made my way home, stopping at Casa Morales for a quick “brunch” (tortilla and a beer), because I had been too nervous to eat breakfast before going to the hospital. And it was nice to just chat with the guys there and feel normal, even though “life in limbo” continues.
16 Friday Mar 2018
Posted in retail therapy, sevilla, shopping
These post-IKEA cañas were much needed after another long (and largely fruitless) trip out to Tomares. In fact, the bus ride only takes 10 minutes, but there’s the hike to the station, and also to the store once you get there. This time I was armed with a LIST and was determined not to waste any time. Ha. It turned out that the tray-table I wanted looked quite different in person than it did online, so I ended up not getting it. And – even worse – the frying pan I bought for my new inducción cooker will have to be returned (long story, and even a longer trip just to return something).
My original plan had been to bus there and taxi back, using Cabify (thanks to Cinta for telling me about this service). But after not getting the table it didn’t seem worth getting a taxi, so we opted for the bus back, which of course we missed by 30 seconds and ended up having to wait half an hour for the next one. Which is where these beers came in, after arriving back in Sevilla. On the way home I said – as I always do – that I never wanted to go to IKEA again. But somehow we forget between trips how exhausting it is, plus there’s that damn frying pan I have to take back…
15 Thursday Mar 2018
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Every couple of months or so I slap this stuff on my head for about 20 minutes, rinse it out and then I’m good to go… no more grey hairs (at least for awhile). The whole process takes about half an hour. I’ve tried doing this at a salon. It takes FOREVER, costs three times as much, and the results often aren’t what I’d asked for.
Unlike many women I know, I really don’t like going to the hairdresser’s. Seriously. I don’t like it A LOT. If I could I would cut my own hair, as it’s been the same cut I’ve had since I was 25. A just below the jawline bob. Not that it even matters since I always pull my hair back anyhow. So I have come to dread having to spend a whole hour at the salon when the cut only takes about 5 minutes… the rest is just faffing around. The only saving grace is that many years ago I found a hairdresser’s that gets me.
I just want my hair cut. I don’t want to chat. I don’t want to read gossip mags. I just want to get in and out as quickly as possible. And these guys totally understand that, though I’m sure they think I’m an anti-social weirdo, which they probably put down to me being a guiri. I’ve considered asking them if they would just cut my hair and let me leave without the blow-dry, which takes at least 4 times longer than the cut. But then I’d miss that moment when my hair actually looks like I wished it would always look like. Depending on weather conditions this lasts anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour…
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